US leak suspect ignored warnings over classified doc ‘deep dives’
The accused continued to leak documents even after being admonished several times last year by superiors for “acts concerning.”
The suspect accused of leaking top secret military documents was warned several times by superiors about his “deep dive” into highly classified materials, yet still managed to keep his job.
Attorneys for the Justice Department announced the revelation in court filings Wednesday, urging a judge to keep Jack Teixeira behind bars pending trial in the case stemming from the most massive intelligence leak in years.
Prosecutors told the judge in their file that Teixeira continued to leak documents even after being admonished by superiors on two separate occasions last year for “concerning actions” he had taken regarding classified information.
A September memo from the 102nd intelligence wing of the Air National Guard, which prosecutors filed with the court, states that Teixeira was observed taking notes on classified intelligence information and pocketing the notes. At the time, Teixeira was instructed not to take notes on classified intelligence information in any form, the memo said.
Another memo from late October said a superior had been notified that Teixeira “may have ignored the cease and desist order to dive deep into intelligence information” given to him the previous month. The memo said Teixeira attended a meeting and then asked “very specific questions.” He was again told to focus on his job, not “deep dives” into classified intelligence information.
Still, a third memo from February said Teixeira was again under observation reviewing information “unrelated to his primary job and related to the intelligence field.” Teixeira “had previously been instructed to focus on his own career duties and not seek intelligence products,” the memo said.
“The defendant continued to share information even with his online associates, despite these admonishments and further efforts to cover up his wrongful conduct,” the prosecutors wrote.
The judge in the case is expected to hear more arguments about prosecutors’ request for detention on Friday and to issue a ruling.
Teixeira is accused of sharing top secret documents on important national security issues in a chat room on Discord, a social media platform that started out as a hangout for gamers. He has not yet filed a plea.
‘Answer the charge’
Lawyers for Teixeira, who was arrested last month on espionage charges, are urging the judge to release Teixeira to his father’s home, noting that he did not flee when media reports shortly before his April 13 arrest started publishing his name.
His lawyer told the judge last month that Teixeira “will answer the charges” and “will be tried by his fellow citizens”.
In their own court case on Wednesday, Teixeira’s lawyers noted that there have been many espionage cases where courts have approved release or the government has failed to try to keep the person behind bars awaiting trial. They have also said there is no allegation that Teixeira ever intended to widely distribute documents.
But prosecutors said in their filing that one of the servers on the social media platform where he posted classified information had at least 150 users at the time the information was shared and “may now have many more users who are actively seeking access to information”.
“Among those with whom the defendant shared government information are a number of individuals who stated they lived in other countries and who logged on to the social media platform with foreign IP addresses,” the prosecutors wrote.
In posts, Teixeira bragged about the scope of information he had access to, writing, “The information I am providing here is less than half of what is available,” prosecutors said.
He also acknowledged that he was not supposed to share the information, prosecutors said, writing in another message: “I told you all I can’t do that,” according to the Ministry of Defense’s file. Justice.
The leaked documents appear to detail US and NATO assistance to Ukraine and US intelligence assessments regarding US allies that could strain ties with those countries. Some show real-time February and March details of the battlefield positions of Ukraine and Russia and the exact number of battlefield equipment lost and newly poured into Ukraine from its allies.